Living in a Virtual World: Children

This week's group presentations on digital safety is an important cornerstone in our path to becoming educators. More and more children and young adults are using the internet in many ways both for entertainment and research. The internet can be very useful in finding new information that is readily available to them and at the same time can be harmful and dangerous. We will be reflecting on these digital safety presentations and identifying how to effectively teach students how to be responsible virtual citizens & how teachers can accomplish this task.

                     The internet is a online database of information that is easy to access through browsers and a quick search bar. Certainly, there is something new to learn every time we use it in our daily lives. My fellow colleagues introduced to me this week new laws regarding such internet activity and surprising details about popular apps. Cyber bullying is and defined by Guam Laws as "forms of harassment and stalking". This kind of behavior not only problem that introduces physical assault but also "but also emotional harassment, intimidation, and mistreatment of weaker or vulnerable children or minors by others" (2). Such behaviors especially when the safety of many underage individuals is involved can lead to real world consequences. These acts of harassment and stalking do amount to a misdemeanor and if found guilty of "cyber bullying" can be charged no more than $1,000 and serve no more than 1 year in jail. Both adults and minors can fall under these punishments. Sexting, also defined by Guam Law as "a new term of art, refers to 'the use of a cell phone to send sexually suggestive texts or emails with nude or nearly nude photos'" (2). As Teachers dealing with minors every day we are constantly at risk to such images and emails by students who do not fully understand the consequences of their actions. It is important that such images and emails should be deleted and reported to the administration.

                     Regarding school, the internet can be beneficial for student who use the internet, not just to socialize with their peers online but for accessing information for education purposes such as projects and assignments. However, we must understand that the there are sections of the internet that its content is not suitable for minors and may not stimulate healthy growth. This ranges from the misleading posts and false reports to more severe harmful material of the dark web. We want student to use the internet, but the problem is if the websites and domains they are accessing are suitable to their needs. In a journal of Cyber Policy by Jasmina Byrne and Patrick Burto,"the question that we ask is whether there is enough positive content online to stimulate children’s curiosity and thirst for knowledge and to keep them engaged in creative activities" (Child Internet Users). In their research they have found that the usage of the internet is getting younger and younger and although "high percentages of children have basic digital literacy skills [...] only about 20% (on average) use the Internet for creative activities (creating blogs, videos and websites)" (CIU). The responsibility for these children and minors is both the parents and teachers. Parents must be aware of their children activities and Teachers must be mindful that if assignments and projects rely on student looking for information outside their texts, it is their responsibility to help guide and teach them about the internet and websites that are safe and appropriate.

                     As a student I always look for online resources such as academic journals, current events and media that provide information for my work. Of course, I have been taught to properly cite these sources as well as how to identify if a source is credible or reliable. These techniques are important because it guides student to look for websites that are educational and provide an online environment that promotes healthy learning. Teachers must be proactive with their students by providing the resources and information they need to effectively and safely browse the web. Providing examples of what is credible and reliable sources for information is just part of that process. Making sure that students know the laws pertaining to copyrights and the guidelines for fair use is also an important practice to teach. Although they are using the information for educational purposes, they may not know just how far this policy extends till it becomes plagiarism and contains copyright violations. Teachers are also subject to these policies and so we must be a leading example of how to properly use online resources and information.

                     In conclusion, the internet is an effective tool in aiding and fostering the educational needs of children. It has become a resource every child can use to take full advantage of furthering their knowledge. However, is can also be harmful and just as counterproductive to the learning process. Children are constantly at risk on these websites and are exposed to increasing behaviors cyber bullying and sexting. As teachers we must guide our students to be responsibly digital citizens by teaching them what are the risks of using the internet, the real-life consequences and implications & how to properly find and utilize that information to develop a well-rounded education. We must never be lacks as the internet is constantly changing and children younger and younger are accessing the internet our job is continuous and we must meet the challenges and needs that our student will face will surfing the online world.

Cited Works

 Bill No. 41-31 (COR), "AN ACT TO AMEND§§ 19.69 AND 19.70 OF CHAPTER 19, AND §61.20 OF CHAPTER 61; TO ADD A NEW § 61.20.1 TO CHAPTER 61, AND NEW §§ 28.90, 28.100 AND 28.101 TO CHAPTER 28, ALL OF TITLE 9, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED; AND TO AMEND §3112.1 OF ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 3 OF TITLE 17, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO BULLYING, CYBERBULLYING AND SEXTING",FEB 24th, 2011. pp 1-22

Byrne, J., & Burton, P. (2017). Children as Internet users: how can evidence better inform policy debate? Journal of Cyber Policy, 2(1), 39–52. doi: 10.1080/23738871.2017.1291698